Up to 500 jobs are to be slashed from Devonport Dockyard in what is seen as a major blow for the South West.

Dockyard operator Babcock International Group said it wants to trim down its management structure by cutting hundreds of posts.

The Plymouth Herald reported how consultation over the cuts began on Wednesday (March 7) with those staff affected from the 5,000-strong workforce.

The docks on the River Tamar at Plymouth repair and service Royal Navy warships and are a significant employer in Plymouth and the South West.

A Babcock spokesman said: "We have been undertaking a review of our operations at Devonport Royal Dockyard over the last 12 months, to ensure that as a business we remain competitive and are well set up to win new work in the future, with the right people, with the right skills in the right place at the right time.

"Following an initial phase of restructuring in 2017, we need to continue with the programme to flatten our management structure and reduce by around 500 positions. By doing this, we will become more agile and flexible to respond to the fast moving and changing environment we work within.

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"This is a necessary step in sustaining our future business; however we recognise that this is a worrying time for those colleagues who are affected by these changes and our priority is now to work with our trade union representatives and those individuals throughout the coming consultation period.”

The dockyards at Devonport, Plymouth

The union Prospect represents a proportion of staff at the yard, and its deputy general secretary Garry Graham said: “Prospect was briefed by management this morning about 500 positions potentially going at Devonport dockyard.

“No formal process has been started but if it does Prospect has been assured that it will be fully consulted. Prospect have long been warning that the government need to end the delays to defence procurement decisions and follow through on the national shipbuilding strategy if they are to secure the UK skills base and maintain our sovereign capacity."

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MPs said they were aware of Babcock's job-cutting programme but thought 400 jobs were to be at risk, not 500, which has now been confirmed.

Plymouth Sutton and Devonport MP Luke Pollard said: "I am extremely disappointed that the job losses are larger than we were expecting. It piles more uncertainty onto Devonport at a time when the defence cuts are putting a lot of question marks over defence jobs in the city. I have spoken to the trade unions, the company and figureheads in Parliament to try and impress on them the need for clarity on what is happening."